We begin! O, TOMATO! is a brand new, saucy, sensory dance theater celebration of the ubiquitous, much-beloved, and often misidentified fruit of dreams, the tomato! This participatory, immersive work will be offered free of charge to family audiences in Philadelphia this fall. Donate at the link in our bio to help us grow this promising little seed into a wacky and wild intergenerational joy bash. Thank you! And may the splat be with you!
And with today’s performance of O, TOMATO! another season of play in the park at Liberty Lands comes to a close. I am tremendously grateful to this talented, imaginative, creative, dedicated, skilled, playful, gorgeous group of humans for co-creating this mad baby magnet with me, and to @cannonballfest for supporting @the.exuberance ‘s experiments two summers in a row. The Muppets and PeeWee Herman are my two big idols in their creation of weird and wonderful work for folks of all ages, and I feel like O, TOMATO! paid homage to both, with a tiny hint at @acrobuffos ‘s Waterbombs and love for local food growers. O, TOMATO! was a labor of love and I loved it! To the artists, producers, donors, audience members and volunteers who joined us on this journey, thank you for making this “joyfully unhinged all-ages tomato party in the park” possible. I want everything I make to be a party, a togetherness, a celebration of something special and small. Cast: @vyettetiya , @livia.chesley and @marisolmakes . Design: @feather_chiaverini .
I visited a community garden in South Philly in June and was gifted this cherry tomato starter. I didn’t think it would survive the relatively low light of my window box—not to mention my forgetfulness, inconsistent watering, and the squirrels, on top of a dreadfully hot summer. A few flowers had popped up here and there but seemed to have been torn off by critters or the wind and rain. Then just a couple of days ago I spotted these little Evil Olive babies. It’s a Fringe season miracle. I hope I get to harvest these guys before the furry friends do. O, TOMATO opens FRIDAY, SEPT 6!
O, TOMATO! rehearsals are fully fruiting! Today we got a sneak peek at some fun costume items you’ll see onstage at Liberty Lands this September, thanks to our wonderful production designer @feather_chiaverini ! Reserve your seats starting AUGUST 1! We can’t wait to see you there! 💫 🍅 Make a contribution to support this intergenerational garden joy bash at the link in our bio. 🍅 💫
Tonight I was cleaning up a box of books still packed up from the September run of READ ME A WORLD. At the very bottom of the box, I found this gloriously illustrated picture book based on the lyrics and story of “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on The Roof. And just beneath it, “Like The Moon Loves The Sky,” a stunning celebration of a parent’s unconditional love, with prose inspired by the Quran. The text on this page reads, “Inshallah you feel safe, like all children should.” Both books lived in the love-themed reading nook in Liberty Lands last month.
It is never too early to encourage a child’s love of books and reading. And reading aloud to a child, using your expressive, silly face and voice, helps bring words and stories to life! What a gift. These photos from READ ME A WORLD were snapped by the amazing Ashley Smith of @wideeyedstudios
In addition to our five fabulous reading nook designers, a team of five playful Facilibrarians were instrumental in bringing Read Me A World to life! 📸by Ashley Smith of @wideeyedstudios . Photo #1 (L to R): RJ Rogers, Marisol Soledad, Sharese Salters, Sophia Idun, and Sarah Clemency. Photo #2 (L to R): RJ, Marisol, Sharese, Sophie, Sarah. Photo #3 (L to R): Sarah, Sophie, and Marisol. Photo #4 (L to R): Marisol and Sarah. Photo #5: Marisol. Photo #6: RJ
J Bean’s wonderful “Watering the Flower of A Friend” nook invites audiences to read aloud together, create original bookmarks, and water roses of Jericho. A cozy, quiet oasis for connection at Liberty Lands. 📸 by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios @wideeyedstudios
Reading nook artist J.Bean Schwab (they/them) is a multi-disciplinary theatre maker, performer and arts educator living in West Philadelphia. Their work lives in the intersections between prop and scenic design, immersive art, puppetry, and performance. Jilly has worked in community with organizations such as SpiralQ, Theatre Exile, Tribe of Fools, Inis Nua, Delaware Shakespeare, New Paradise Labs, and works in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Bean holds a B.F.A in Acting from Arcadia University, and an M.A in Theatre from Villanova University.
J.Bean creates reimagined works with reclaimed resources that aim to be as much a story in its making as well as its final form. Their work celebrates the sensory and tangible qualities of the worlds created in theatrical storytelling. Through tactful use of thrifted items, salvaged materials, J.Bean’s works pursue abundance found from what we can build anew.
Our fifth and final reading nook was created by J Bean Schwab (@beansplain ). This gauzy, cozy, romantic nook celebrates love in all of its forms—familial love, the love between friends, romantic love, and more. In this gauzy video, J Bean demonstrates the installation process for one important part of this truly dreamy nook design.
Families have been flocking to enjoy Natalie’s “Picnic in The Park“ read aloud nook hosted by Read Me A World Facilibrarian Sarah Clemency, an expert early childhood educator and comedy performer in Philadelphia. We are so lucky to have both Natalie and Sarah on the team. 📸 by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios. @wideeyedstudios@sclemency@nataliekuenzi
